CFTH e-News: Good news to share

CFTH e-News 02/17/11
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Greetings!

Today is a "make it or break it" day for bills being considered in the Washington Legislature. Bills that have not passed through committee by the end of today will be not be considered for further action this session. With that in mind, we are happy to report that one bill in particular that is beneficial to Clark County's homeless system looks favorable to pass.

HB 1811/SB 5646: Allows people seeking access to housing or homelessness services to provide informed consent by the telephone. This will help people in need receive information and services more quickly. Our thanks to Sen. Pridemore (District 49) and Rep. Springer (District 45) for sponsoring this bill.

Thank you to Debby Dover, Executive Director of Second Step Housing for joining Craig in Olympia to visit with legislators on Housing and Homeless Advocacy Day. If you have questions about housing and homelessness issues being addressed in the legislature, please contact Craig Lyons,Council for the Homeless Executive Director.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend,

Charlene

News of Interest

(Links may be time sensitive)

Ending family homelessness: A tale of two systems

Washington's serious economic risk factors drive homelessness

Local Efforts Align with National Trends

Serenity Madrone, coordinator of the Council for the Homeless Emergency Shelter Clearinghouse received a scholarship to attend the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference on Ending Family Homelessness. She reports back that the sessions at the conference emphasized two key themes:

The importance of addressing homelessness from a system and community-wide perspective
The importance of quality data collection to inform programs and policies, as well as make the case for funding.

"We are very fortunate in Clark County. We are well on our way in both a community-wide perspective and in data collection," observes Serenity. "Our coordinated entry into shelter through the Emergency Shelter Clearinghouse and the data we collect and analyze through the Homeless Management Information System are examples of Clark County's collective commitment to work as a team for the greater good."

And speaking of collaboration...the next Coalition of Service Providers meeting is Tuesday March 9, 2011, 10am-noon at the YWCA, 3609 Main Street in Vancouver. For those of you who typically attend the meetings, an agenda is forthcoming. Click here to learn more about the Coalition of Service Providers and their role in Clark County's homelessness system.

Council for the Homeless

Staff Board of Directors

Craig Lyons, Executive Director Cheryl Pfaff, President

Ken Burris, CVM Coordinator Sierk Braam, Vice President

Serenity Madrone, Clearinghouse Coordinator Beth Oliver, Treasurer
David Moore, Community Housing Coordinator Barbara Baldus

Charlene Welch, Administrative Coordinator Pam Brokaw
Dale Whitley, HMIS Coordinator Scott Firstenburg

                                                  Kathleen O'Connor
                                                                                                    Ralph Parker
                                                                                                   Beryl Robison
                                                                                                 Sharon Wylie

Elected Representatives
Marc Boldt, Clark County Commissioner                                               Pat Campbell, City of Vancouver Councilmember
Debra Conway, Vancouver Housing Authority Commissioner

Proud to Partner with these and other Community Providers
City County VHA